Donald Trump has issued a warning about imposing tariffs on the UK if it doesn’t eliminate its digital services tax affecting US social media companies.
This digital services tax, which was launched in 2020, charges a 2% fee on the earnings of various major American tech firms.
While speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Thursday, the US president stated: “We’ve been looking at it and we can meet that very easily by just putting a big tariff on the UK, so they better be careful.
“If they don’t drop the tax, we’ll probably put a big tariff on the UK.”
The tax targets businesses with global revenues from digital operations exceeding £500m ($673m), as long as more than £25m of that comes from UK users.
Trump claimed these regulations have long caused friction between the US and UK and are aimed at “top companies in the world”.
“The UK did it, a couple of other people did it,” he noted. “They think they’re going to make an easy buck, that’s why they’ve all taken advantage of our country.”
The digital services tax remained intact under the trade agreement between the UK and US established in May 2025, even though it was discussed.
When asked how high such tariffs might be, he indicated that they would be “more than what they’re getting” from this levy. “What we’ll do is we’ll reciprocate by putting something on that’s equal or greater than what they’re doing,” he explained.
These comments add to growing tensions in US-UK relations, which have worsened since Sir Keir Starmer dismissed any involvement of the UK in Middle Eastern conflicts.
Earlier this month, Trump suggested that last year’s terms for the UK-US trade deal “can always be changed” during an interview with Sky News.
His recent statements come months after similar threats from the US regarding new tariffs and export restrictions targeting countries with digital taxes impacting American tech giants. Several European nations like France, Italy, and Spain also implement a digital services tax.
In a post made on Truth Social back in August 2025, Trump expressed his commitment to “stand up to countries that attack our incredible American tech companies”.
“Digital taxes, digital services legislation, and digital markets regulations are all designed to harm or discriminate against American technology,” he added.
“This must end,” he insisted while promising that unless these discriminatory measures are lifted”, he would impose significant additional tariffs on exports from those nations to the US.
Downing Street has been contacted for comment.
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